McIntyre excited about Bathurst opportunity

One of the world’s fastest race circuits offers a wealth of opportunity says John McIntyre as the two-time New Zealand V8 champion prepares to depart for the famous Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales this week.

McIntyre is driving with fellow Kiwi racer Daniel Gaunt for the Stone Brothers Racing team, making them the only all-Kiwi driver pairing for the ‘great race’, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 taking place 9 to 11 October.

McIntyre and Gaunt drive the #4 Irwin-SP Tools Ford normally driven by SBR’s Alex Davison. For Bathurst, SBR is pairing Davison with young Kiwi star Shane van Gisbergen, giving the team’s two regular drivers the best possible points-scoring opportunity and offering McIntyre and Gaunt further opportunities to demonstrate their abilities in this gruelling endurance race.

McIntyre says it’s hard to explain the experience of racing at Bathurst.

“It doesn’t hit you until you get there, the sheer speed of the circuit, the crowds, the teams. It’s an amazing atmosphere,” says the Nelson-based, Hawke’s Bay-born full-time race driver.

“The realisation of the circuit’s sheer speed will come when we do our team track walk on Wednesday afternoon. We walk with the engineers, discussing each corner, each straight, each braking point. And then it’s like, wow, I’m going to drive on one of the world’s fastest circuits again. It’s a great feeling!”

McIntyre says that that realisation does make you a bit frightened. “But in a good way, because if you weren’t apprehensive about racing here, you’d be dangerous to race against.”

Watching videos and reading notes can’t prepare you 100 per cent for driving on this circuit, says the driver known as ‘Johnny Mac’. “The first session on the circuit is a bit of a blur. Phillip Island is also a very fast circuit, but you can see the whole circuit – as you go round one corner, the next is clearly visible, but it’s not like that at Bathurst! The car’s light as you’re powering up the hill unable to see the next corner, then you find yourself holding your breath as you rip across the top of the mountain. So it takes time to feel comfortable. If you think about the people who have won this race over the years, they all have huge amounts of experience on the circuit. It’s unique and it is always a fantastic experience to race there. It’s the ultimate for an Australasian V8 driver.”

In fact, McIntyre says the whole experience of being an endurance driver with SBR this season has been thoroughly enjoyable and beneficial to his upcoming campaign to win the New Zealand V8 championship for a third time.

“Working with the SBR team during our testing and preparation for first the Phillip Island 500 in September and now Bathurst, I’ve never had this much involvement before and it’s just excellent.

“For our New Zealand V8, this new level of preparation has already paid dividends during recent testing. I’m able to provide quicker, more concise feedback to the team about the car’s set-up. Physically and mentally, I’ve been working very hard on my preparation which is also good for our New Zealand season starting early in November.”

McIntyre has competed at Bathurst twice before; in 2004 with WPS Racing partnering David Besnard and in 2007 with Team Kiwi Racing in the Stone Brothers Racing-run Ford as Shane van Gisbergen’s driving partner.

McIntyre and Gaunt have a busy week at Bathurst after McIntyre flies in from New Zealand on Tuesday. There’s no driving on Wednesday, with the first opportunity to get onto the circuit coming early Thursday afternoon (Australian time) for a three-part practice session. There’s more practice on Friday morning with the qualifying session broken into two legs from 2:30pm. The V8 Supercar teams get another 60 minute practice on Saturday morning, before the afternoon’s top ten shootout. After a 20 minute warm-up session early Sunday morning, the race itself starts at 10:30am for 161 laps of hard-out racing.

McIntyre says SBR has a specific strategy for him and Gaunt, as they’re not full-time V8 Supercar drivers. “The team is really supportive. Dan and I have been made to feel like the #4 car is ours, that the team is really behind us to do well. The result at Phillip Island was solid, but we would have liked to do better. We always want to improve and the team wants us to do well. It’s going to an exciting weekend!”

ENDS/

John McIntyre’s current 2009-10 racing schedule

11-13 Sept 2009 – Phillip Island 500 – Stone Brothers Racing Ford

8-11 Oct 2009 – Bathurst 1000 – Stone Brothers Racing Ford

7-8 Nov 2009 – Pukekohe Park Raceway – John McIntyre Racing Ford

28-29 Nov 2009 – Powerbuilt Raceway at Ruapuna Park – John McIntyre Racing Ford

16-17 Jan 2010 – Teretonga Park, Invercargill – John McIntyre Racing Ford

23-24 Jan 2010 – Timaru International Motor Raceway – John McIntyre Racing Ford

13-14 Feb 2010 – Manfeild Autocourse – John McIntyre Racing Ford

13-14 Mar 2010 – Taupo Motorsport Park – John McIntyre Racing Ford

17-18 Apr 2010 – Hamilton 400 – John McIntyre Racing Ford

Further details can be found on the website www.jmr.co.nz